IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/ujbmxx/v47y2009i4p465-488.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Barriers to Innovation among Spanish Manufacturing SMEs

Author

Listed:
  • Antonia Madrid‐guijarro
  • Domingo Garcia
  • Howard Van auken

Abstract

Innovation is widely recognized as a key factor in the competitiveness of nations and firms. Small firms that do not embrace innovation within their core business strategy run the risk of becoming uncompetitive because of obsolete products and processes. Innovative firms are a perquisite for a dynamic and competitive economy.This paper reports on the results of a study that examined barriers to firm innovation among a sample of 294 managers of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Spain. The study examined the relation between (1) product, process, and management innovation and (2) 15 obstacles to innovation, which can limit a firm's ability to remain competitive and profitable. Findings of the study show that barriers have a differential impact on the various types of innovation; product, process, and management innovation are affected differently by the different barriers. The most significant barriers are associated with costs, whereas the least significant are associated with manager/employee resistance. Additionally, the results demonstrate that the costs associated with innovation have proportionately greater impact on small than on larger firms.The findings can be used in the development of public policy aimed at supporting and encouraging the innovation among SMEs in Spain. Government policies that encourage and support innovation among all firms, especially small firms, can help countries remain competitive in a global market. Public policy that encourages innovation can enable firms to remain competitive and survive, both of which have direct implications for employment and a country's economic viability. The results may also be insightful for managers who are attempting to encourage innovation. Understanding barriers can assist managers in fostering an innovative culture by supporting new ideas or by avoiding an attitude that creates resistance to new ideas.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonia Madrid‐guijarro & Domingo Garcia & Howard Van auken, 2009. "Barriers to Innovation among Spanish Manufacturing SMEs," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(4), pages 465-488, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ujbmxx:v:47:y:2009:i:4:p:465-488
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-627X.2009.00279.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/j.1540-627X.2009.00279.x
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1540-627X.2009.00279.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Annosi, Maria Carmela & Capo, Francesca & Appio, Francesco Paolo & Bedetti, Ivan, 2023. "Unveiling micro-foundations of digital transformation: Cognitive models, routines, and organizational structures in agri-food SMEs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    2. Rafael Becerra-Vicario & Daniel Ruiz-Palomo & Ana León-Gómez & José Manuel Santos-Jaén, 2023. "The Relationship between Innovation and the Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses in the Industrial Sector: The Mediating Role of CSR," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Simms, Christopher & Frishammar, Johan, 2024. "Technology transfer challenges in asymmetric alliances between high-technology and low-technology firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    4. Schiuma, Giovanni & Santarsiero, Francesco, 2023. "Innovation labs as organisational catalysts for innovation capacity development: A systematic literature review," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    5. Giorgia Bagagiolo & Lucia Vigoroso & Federica Caffaro & Eugenio Cavallo, 2024. "Determinants of eco-innovation in the agricultural machinery sector: the case of small and medium enterprises in the Piedmont region (Italy)," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(10), pages 25849-25869, October.
    6. Tristan Blick & Ine Paeleman & Eddy Laveren, 2024. "Financing constraints and SME growth: the suppression effect of cost-saving management innovations," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 961-986, March.
    7. Lorenzo Ardito, 2023. "The influence of firm digitalization on sustainable innovation performance and the moderating role of corporate sustainability practices: An empirical investigation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5252-5272, December.
    8. Corchuelo Martínez-Azúa, Beatriz & Ferreiro Seoane , Francisco J., 2019. "Agri-food industry in Extremadura: obstacles to innovation, willingness to innovate, and demanded public actions," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 45, pages 181-199.
    9. Diogo Pombo & Mário Franco, 2023. "A qualitative investigation of infusing products with service via strategic alliances among SMEs: a case of servitization," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 17(2), pages 529-555, June.
    10. Ahunjonov Umidjon & Hu Shuhua & Bandula Jayathilake & Mu Renyan, 2014. "Characteristics of Small and Medium Enterprise Innovativeness: Cases of Uzbekistan and China," International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 1(1), pages 12-27, December.
    11. S. M. Ferdous Azam & Moha A. Abdullah, 2015. "Differential Roles between Owner and Manager in Financial Practice that Contributes to Business Success: an Analysis on Malaysian Small Business," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 4, April.
    12. Vo, Long Hai & Le, Thai-Ha & Park, Donghyun, 2022. "Digital Divide Decoded: Can E-Commerce and Remote Workforce Enhance Enterprise Resilience in the COVID-19 Era?," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 667, Asian Development Bank.
    13. Istipliler, Baris & Bort, Suleika & Woywode, Michael, 2023. "Flowers of adversity: Institutional constraints and innovative SMEs in transition economies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    14. I Nengah Aristana & Ni Made Dwi Puspitawati & Putu Pradiva Putra Salain & Viktor Koval & Oksana Konarivska & Tetiana Paniuk, 2024. "Improving Innovative Work Behavior in Small and Medium Enterprises: Integrating Transformational Leadership, Knowledge Sharing, and Psychological Empowerment," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-19, November.
    15. Norlaila Ibrahim & Rosman Mahmood & Ahmad Suffian Mohd Zahari & Mulyana Mulyana, 2024. "Entrepreneurial Specific Factors, Support Factors and Micro enterprises Performance: The Case of Malaysian Microcredit Program," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 16(1), pages 51-63.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:ujbmxx:v:47:y:2009:i:4:p:465-488. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/ujbm .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.